Social Sites Every Business and Professional Should Use

Many marketers argue that there is no single social media to go after for businesses trying to join the conversation. They’re right to some extent but I disagree nonetheless. There are 5 social sites you have to join and use as a business person.

It’s true that you have to find out where you fit in best. Maybe it’s even YouTube, Flickr or Pinterest instead of Yahoo Answers but those 5 sites are indispensable at first to find out. You’ll never even know what’s going on when you’re not there.

What about Google+ you may ask? Do I have to use it? Well, you have to use it to succeed in Google search but your audience does not reside there yet probably.

These 5 sites enable you to

join social media on a business and professional level

meet and connect with industry peers there

find out about industry trends and what’s popular outside your niche

More than that you’ll find out what’s popular from your niche outside of it.

By now I’m very active on Google+ as its the logical choice for an SEO. I have tried Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo Answers and currently my business model does not resonate very much with them. Still I’m keeping my profiles active there. I’m still daily on Twitter as my audience is still strong over there.

In the end you have to focus on no more than three sites

IMHO as otherwise you’d need w hole team to deal with social media. In case you can afford one, great, all other business people better beware of social networking as for many it’s simply “not working”.

Trying to be active on too many sites does cost too much money and effort.

71 Responses

I couldn’t agree more this this post. Having a social networking presence is huge! We’ve found for our clients that Twitter, LinkedIn, and Digg have been a big success with building their credibility. The more you or your company is around the more people start believing your company is better than the ones who are not. Plus everyone and their brother is getting a twitter account these days… its starting to turn into a pretty powerful tool!

Brian BufaloMay 22, 2009 at 19:53 ·

I agree with most of your list however I was wondering about a simple, glaring omission, Facebook. I know the negative connotations is that it is all play and no work but this is usually an individuals strongest social network as the people who make up this are the one’s that they know on a much more personal level. Not to mention it is far more likely you will find someone with a Facebook page than Twitter or Friend Feed. I use most of these sites myself and have actually gotten job references from them but Facebook is a definite contender here as a professional social network.

nick: Right. Digg is not good for most businesses though. It’s a very tough and hostile environment to start.

Brian: Thanks for the feedback. I indeed considered to add Facebook to the list but in the end decided not to. It’s maybe my own bias but I don’t really use it. I have a profile there like I do on MySpace but I don’t actively network on both platforms.
I guess it depends on how you use it. My impression is that Facebook is good for non-profits while MySpace is the choice for musicians but it’s not indispensable for the average business.

I would have to add facebook to the list as well. I’ve gotten two clients from facebook ads and having a facebook page for my business plus several bites that didn’t pan out. But I wouldn’t have had those inquiries without the facebook presence.

I would still exhort people to check out which of those markets are attracting the most people and concentrate your efforts there.

GidsMay 27, 2009 at 14:08 ·

I’m not so sure about Twitter – it’s only valid if people are going to use it.
Given tha LinkedIn is useful but getting spammier, http://www.MeettheBoss.com is one that should be on the list for senior people in a business.

Your top 5 have you revamped your ideas on them yet with the comments regarding Facebook? Facebook seems to be growing incredibly and just getting short sharp bursts of activity lately. Even my non SEO friends talk about it in general conversation.

It is getting to the point that I am actually a little sick of hearing the words “are you on Facebook?”. However if people are saying it then that’s where you should be for social networking if nothing else? Or am I wrong?

I also noticed within the last couple of months a greater movement with LinkedIn but then the activity seemed to drop off so not sure what is happening there.

I wonder what the top 5 will be in your list this time next year?

Today I came to your site, where I have previously visited but rarely commented, and found that I have spent the last hour and a half here commenting on your comments!! About time I went and did some real work!

There are more than 400 social media and social networking sites. Each has its own weightage in particular category or niche. They are really useful when dealing with those relevant niches. Thanks for the nice post.

Well…i agree with this post these are beneficial and if we talk about the best one…then my personal experience says Twiter is better and more beneficial but its not 100% true because its all about your business that which social site suits you.

Mark VurnumJuly 16, 2009 at 17:33 ·

I already use Delicious, you have not mentioned Facebook which I use quite often. Nice all the same.

So far I used was twitter, delicious and yahoo answer. Shoud I add more social sites above? Anyway thanks for the info.

anonJuly 21, 2009 at 09:59 ·

I agree with most of the websites you listed. According to me one should also join Facebook for business and professional use. Its a social networking site and we can use it better for our commercial use.

skinnybabeJuly 29, 2009 at 08:56 ·

Nice suggestion! thanks for that, but now I’m currently using Twitter, Yahoo answers.

The power of social media is evident here in all those touting sites that weren’t on the list. I must wonder if they are users or employees/owners of the sites, but it is giving the exposure they seek.
And, I wouldn’t call them all social sites, and I wouldn’t say that the term ‘needs’ in the title is true, but it’s a reasonable list if somewhat out of date.

RachelAugust 27, 2009 at 23:34 ·

Really strange that Facebook aint on the list. If I was to make a list like that FB would be #2 on the list for sure. Perhaps I`d even remove FriendFeed from the list alltogether..

I agree with the comments that Facebook should be in this list. As a more regular user of Twitter and LinkedIn, I am only just discovering the potential of Facebook. I feel that it has to be included for the vast number of people on the site alone! Surely that gives huge potential for a variety of reasons.

Use of these sites are very beneficial in professional and business use, as they no longer just connect but also inform people about their interests and environment. Moreover, some companies have used these sites for free publicity and exposure.

I believe that the most promising is youtube and yahoo answers. It seems as though the other sites come accross as ‘un-proffesional’ if you wish. However I suppose this does not apply to all business.. Interesting ideas though.. cheers!

I think businesses should target their activities to the social networks that will give them the best bang for their buck. Don’t discount Youtube as well – for traffic and brand recognition – I think this wins top prize for the youth

I think facebook is useful for business. Many online shops are now establishing in facebook and has greatly helped in their business. Not only multiply and friendster, online business are now flourishing in facebook.

I agree, every internet business should be active on all fronts. However, the challenge is having a presence on all fronts while also handling customers & other necessary tasks. You either need to have the resources up front to pay for certain things to be outsourced, or you have to do it all yourself (which can be overwhelming!).

thanks for great post, am using facebook and twitter for promoting my blog and site but after this post I’ll use them all and serach many others scoial network bookmarking sites for promote but over you help alot.

RuriNovember 30, 2009 at 11:31 ·

For me, Yahoo answer is not considered as social sites.

For facebook, I know many people use it for business, but the feature itself mostly for personal use. I also use it for only personal use.

I haven’t used facebook for business yet either but I have seen other pages that have. One of the ways it go viral is by people suggesting you become a fan of such a page. That is exactly how I found out about a really cool photographer in my area. It can work and it is well trusted

I agree that utilizing all 7 social networking platforms would be the best way to reach all of your potential clients or customers. We do it with our site and it helps get your info out there to everyone!

Casey: Yeah, I tried Pinterest now myself and I’ve seen some convincing use cases for business people but it’s not a site for everybody. It’s good for certain business types, the visual ones.
Pinterest is good for content marketing of things you can see and that look great. Not everything does.